Linda Chapa LaVia

American politician
Linda Chapa LaVia
Member of the Illinois House of Representatives
from the 83rd district
In office
January 2003 (2003-January) – February 2019 (2019-February)
Preceded byBrent Hassert (redistricted)
Succeeded byBarbara Hernandez
Personal details
Born (1966-08-16) August 16, 1966 (age 57)
Aurora, Illinois, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseVernon
ChildrenTwo Children
Alma materUniversity of Illinois at Chicago
ProfessionFull Time Legislator

Linda Chapa LaVia (born August 16, 1966) was a Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives, representing the 83rd District from 2003 until 2019, when she retired to accept an appointment to the cabinet of Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker. The district covers part of Kane County, including the city of Aurora. She was first elected to the Illinois General Assembly in 2002 defeating Bob O'Connor, an Aurora Alderman-At-Large, becoming the first Hispanic to win a seat in the state legislature outside of Cook County.

In 2014, Chapa LaVia made racial comments by calling state Representative John Anthony a "half." Anthony is black with Puerto Rican heritage. Chap LaVia later apologized for her remarks on the House floor. In her apology she said, "I want to deeply apologize to my side of the aisle over here, my colleagues, my brothers and sisters for my personality meltdown yesterday."[1]

On Tuesday, June 24, 2015, she announced her candidacy for Mayor of Aurora, Illinois[2] However, she did not advance past the Aurora primary.[3]

The daughter of Texas cotton pickers, Linda attended Northern Illinois University and enrolled in the R.O.T.C. program, later graduating and becoming an officer in the United States Army.[4]

Chapa LaVia served as a delegate to the 2012 Democratic National Convention.[5]

In 2018, Chapa LaVia was appointed to Governor-elect J.B. Pritzker's transition committee on Veterans Affairs.[6] On February 15, 2019, Governor Pritzker announced that Chapa LaVia would be appointed the Director of the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs.[7] Chapa LaVia resigned as Illinois Veterans Affairs director in January, 2021. A 2021 report from the Illinois Department of Human Services' Office of the Inspector General stated that systemic mismanagement by the Illinois Veterans Affairs department led to 36 deaths from COVID-19 at the LaSalle Veterans Home. The report specifically called out Chapa LaVia's abdication of her responsibilities.[8]

Chapa LaVia, her husband, and two children live in Aurora.

References

  1. ^ Riopell, Mike (2014-04-10). "Chapa LaVia apologizes over racial comments". Daily Herald. Retrieved 2016-09-01.
  2. ^ Lord, Steve (2015-06-24). "Chapa LaVia launches run for Aurora mayor". Aurora Beacon News/Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2015-06-24.
  3. ^ Lord, Steve. "Irvin, Guzman lead in Aurora mayoral primary". Aurora Beacon-News. Retrieved 2017-03-01.
  4. ^ "Biography". Linda Chapa LaVia. Archived from the original on March 23, 2016.
  5. ^ Newman, Craig (2012-09-02). "Who are the Illinois delegates to the Democratic National Convention?". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 2013-05-02. Retrieved 2012-09-06.
  6. ^ Lazansky, Shea (November 12, 2018). "Pritzker: Transition to be focused on veterans". Morris Daily Herald. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
  7. ^ Miller, Rich (February 15, 2019). "Rep. Chapa LaVia will head IDVA after previous appointee bows out". Capitol Fax. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  8. ^ Pearson, Rick (April 30, 2021). "IG report details large-scale mismanagement of virus outbreak at Illinois veterans home where 36 died". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved April 30, 2021.

External links

  • Representative Linda Chapa LaVia (D) 83rd District at the Illinois General Assembly
    • By session: 98th, 97th, 96th, 95th, 94th, 93rd
  • Profile at Vote Smart
  • Linda Chapa LaVia at Illinois House Democrats
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103rd General Assembly (2023–2025)
Speaker of the House
Emanuel Chris Welch (D)
Majority Leader
Robyn Gabel (D)
Minority Leader
Tony McCombie (R)
  1. ▌Aaron Ortiz (D)
  2. ▌Elizabeth Hernandez (D)
  3. ▌Eva-Dina Delgado (D)
  4. ▌Lilian Jiménez (D)
  5. ▌Kimberly du Buclet (D)
  6. ▌Sonya Harper (D)
  7. ▌Emanuel Chris Welch (D)
  8. ▌La Shawn Ford (D)
  9. ▌Yolonda Morris (D)
  10. ▌Jawaharial Williams (D)
  11. ▌Ann Williams (D)
  12. ▌Margaret Croke (D)
  13. ▌Hoan Huynh (D)
  14. ▌Kelly Cassidy (D)
  15. ▌Michael Kelly (D)
  16. ▌Kevin Olickal (D)
  17. ▌Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz (D)
  18. ▌Robyn Gabel (D)
  19. ▌Lindsey LaPointe (D)
  20. ▌Bradley Stephens (R)
  21. ▌Abdelnasser Rashid (D)
  22. ▌Angelica Guerrero-Cuellar (D)
  23. ▌Edgar Gonzalez Jr. (D)
  24. ▌Theresa Mah (D)
  25. ▌Curtis Tarver (D)
  26. ▌Kam Buckner (D)
  27. ▌Justin Slaughter (D)
  28. ▌Robert Rita (D)
  29. ▌Thaddeus Jones (D)
  30. ▌Will Davis (D)
  31. ▌Mary E. Flowers (D)
  32. ▌Cyril Nichols (D)
  33. ▌Marcus C. Evans Jr. (D)
  34. ▌Nicholas Smith (D)
  35. ▌Mary Gill (D)
  36. ▌Kelly M. Burke (D)
  37. ▌Patrick Sheehan (R)
  38. ▌Debbie Meyers-Martin (D)
  39. ▌Will Guzzardi (D)
  40. ▌Jaime Andrade Jr. (D)
  41. ▌Janet Yang Rohr (D)
  42. ▌Terra Costa Howard (D)
  43. ▌Anna Moeller (D)
  44. ▌Fred Crespo (D)
  45. ▌Jenn Ladisch Douglass (D)
  46. ▌Diane Blair-Sherlock (D)
  47. ▌Amy Grant (R)
  48. ▌Jennifer Sanalitro (R)
  49. ▌Maura Hirschauer (D)
  50. ▌Barbara Hernandez (D)
  51. ▌Nabeela Syed (D)
  52. ▌Martin McLaughlin (R)
  53. ▌Nicolle Grasse (D)
  54. ▌Mary Beth Canty (D)
  55. ▌Marty Moylan (D)
  56. ▌Michelle Mussman (D)
  57. ▌Tracy Katz Muhl (D)
  58. ▌Bob Morgan (D)
  59. ▌Daniel Didech (D)
  60. ▌Rita Mayfield (D)
  61. ▌Joyce Mason (D)
  62. ▌Laura Faver Dias (D)
  63. ▌Steve Reick (R)
  64. ▌Tom Weber (R)
  65. ▌Dan Ugaste (R)
  66. ▌Suzanne Ness (D)
  67. ▌Maurice West (D)
  68. ▌Dave Vella (D)
  69. ▌Joe Sosnowski (R)
  70. ▌Jeff Keicher (R)
  71. ▌Daniel Swanson (R)
  72. ▌Gregg Johnson (D)
  73. ▌Ryan Spain (R)
  74. ▌Bradley Fritts (R)
  75. ▌Jed Davis (R)
  76. ▌Lance Yednock (D)
  77. ▌Norma Hernandez (D)
  78. ▌Camille Lilly (D)
  79. ▌Jackie Haas (R)
  80. ▌Anthony DeLuca (D)
  81. ▌Anne Stava-Murray (D)
  82. ▌Nicole La Ha Zwiercan (R)
  83. ▌Matt Hanson (D)
  84. ▌Stephanie Kifowit (D)
  85. ▌Dagmara Avelar (D)
  86. ▌Lawrence M. Walsh Jr. (D)
  87. ▌Bill Hauter (R)
  88. ▌Dan Caulkins (R)
  89. ▌Tony McCombie (R)
  90. ▌John Cabello (R)
  91. ▌Sharon Chung (D)
  92. ▌Jehan Gordon-Booth (D)
  93. ▌Travis Weaver (R)
  94. ▌Norine Hammond (R)
  95. ▌Michael Coffey (R)
  96. ▌Sue Scherer (D)
  97. ▌Harry Benton (D)
  98. ▌Natalie Manley (D)
  99. ▌Randy Frese (R)
  100. ▌C. D. Davidsmeyer (R)
  101. ▌Chris Miller (R)
  102. ▌Adam Niemerg (R)
  103. ▌Carol Ammons (D)
  104. ▌Brandun Schweizer (R)
  105. ▌Dennis Tipsword (R)
  106. ▌Jason Bunting (R)
  107. ▌Brad Halbrook (R)
  108. ▌Wayne Rosenthal (R)
  109. ▌Charles Meier (R)
  110. ▌Blaine Wilhour (R)
  111. ▌Amy Elik (R)
  112. ▌Katie Stuart (D)
  113. ▌Jay Hoffman (D)
  114. ▌Kevin Schmidt (R)
  115. ▌David Friess (R)
  116. ▌Dave Severin (R)
  117. ▌Patrick Windhorst (R)
  118. ▌Paul Jacobs (R)


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